Susan Mallery - Seductive One

Tell her now, he thought. Tell her the truth.

She sighed. “Oh, Nic, what would I have done without you? When I came to you for the loan, I really wanted to start my own label, but I don’t think I actually believed I would need to. I think deep inside I believed I would inherit. I figured he would make the four of us equal owners and that I would run things. I started Four Sisters to hedge my bets.” She blinked back tears. “Now that’s all I have. And it’s because of you. You were so generous and willing to take a chance on me. I really appreciate that.”

He was slime. “Brenna, it wasn’t like that.”

She gave a shaky smile. “It was exactly like that. Ten years ago I treated you horribly. I loved you, but I wasn’t willing to defy my family. But you forgave me.”

He didn’t know where she was going with this, but he had to stop her now before she said something they would both regret.

“You’re upset,” he told her. “You need to recover from the shock.”

“Do I? Or has the shock given me the courage to say what needs saying?” She leaned forward and kissed him. “I’ve always regretted not marrying you. I tried to love Jeff, but I couldn’t. That’s why I gave my life away-I felt guilty. I devoted my time to him because I couldn’t give him my heart. It belonged to you. It still does.”

This was not happening. Nic stood and paced to the window. He spun back to Brenna.

“You don’t know what you’re saying.”

She shrugged. “I think I’ve always had lousy timing. This only proves it, huh?” She rose. “It’s okay, Nic. You don’t have to say anything back. I’m not expecting a declaration of your undying love and a proposal or anything.” She paused. “Well, it would be nice, but I understand a lot of things have changed. You may not feel the same way. I just wanted you to know. I still love you. I guess that gives you a win in all this.”

A win? The irony should have made him laugh, but instead he wanted to stop time and figure out how this had all gotten so screwed up. Brenna wasn’t supposed to love him. Not now. Not like this.

Not after what he’d done.

“Brenna, you don’t understand,” he said.

“Are you guys in here? Nic? Brenna?”

He swore in frustration.

“Mia?” Brenna called. “Is that you?”

Mia burst into the living room. “Brenna, are you okay? I saw you running through the vineyards. I thought maybe you’d finally gone over the deep end. I figured you’d come here, so I drove over. I went to the office first, but they told me you were in here.” She waved her right hand and he recognized his grandmother’s diary. “You’ll never guess what I found.”

Nic clenched his hands into fists. “Mia, this isn’t a really good time. Your sister and I-”

“Trust me, you’re gonna want to hear this. See, I’ve been translating the diary. When I got into it, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I didn’t want to say anything until I reached the end. I wanted to be sure.”

Nic wanted to grab Mia by her shirt collar and propel her from the room. He needed time with Brenna to figure out what he was going to say to her. How he was going to explain the truth? But Mia wasn’t interested in anything but her news.

“It’s so amazing,” she said gleefully. She looked at Nic. “Hang on to to your privates, Nic. Grandpa Lorenzo was right all along. Salvatore Giovanni really did poison the Marcelli vines all those years ago-and you’ll never guess why.”

“What are you talking about?” Brenna asked. Her head was swimming. With all she’d already been through, she didn’t think there were more shocks to be had. Apparently she’d been wrong.

Mia pulled several folded sheets of paper out of her shorts back pocket. “Once I realized what was going on, I took notes. It’s so incredible.”

She plopped into a wing chair by the sofa and waved at the couch. “You guys want to take a load off while I read this or are you going to stay standing?”

Brenna pressed a hand to her stomach. She felt as if an entire platoon of butterflies was fighting it out in there. Her chest hurt, her eyes burned, and she couldn’t believe she’d just told Nic she loved him. Emotional meltdown, she told herself. She’d reacted to a horrific situation by spilling her guts. Unfortunately, she’d told him about the same time she’d figured it out for herself, so she hadn’t had a chance to get used to the information. Worse, he hadn’t reacted.

She eyed him now and saw him watching her. She was unable to read his expression or figure out what he was thinking. Obviously she’d shocked him with her confession, but had it been in a good way or a bad way? Did he want them to be alone so he could take her in his arms and tell her how much he’d always loved her, too, or did he just want to bolt for safety?

“Hello?” Mia said, sounding impatient. “Doesn’t this interest anyone but me?”

Brenna slowly sat on the sofa. Whatever she and Nic had to say to each other could wait. Great. In the space of an hour she’d found out that her grandfather really was selling the winery, and she’d handed her heart over to Nic without finding out how he felt about her. Somehow she doubted anything Mia had to say could even come close.

Nic crossed to the window and stared outside. “Go ahead,” he told Mia.

Mia shrugged. “Okay. So if you started translating at the beginning, you probably already know that Antonio and Sophia were in love. According to this, they had been for years. But there was a problem with Antonio’s family. It’s not clear what, but he wasn’t considered a desirable match for her. When he and Salvatore decided to start over in America, Sophia vowed to wait for her one true love. Heartfelt good-bye, etcetera. Flash forward six years. Sophia is still the beauty of the village, but she has refused every suitor. Her father grows impatient and begins to pressure her. She gets a letter from Antonio telling her that he and Salvatore are coming back to claim brides. The wineries are already starting to show a profit. By village standards he’s a rich man now, and he’s coming to get her.”

Mia glanced up from the paper. “She waited six years. How crazy is that?”

Brenna thought about how long she’d loved Nic. “He was her one true love.”

Mia wrinkled her nose. “You sound like a greeting card. I say cut your losses and find the best guy who’s available now, but that’s just me. Anyway, weeks go by, Sophia’s family gets impatient. She promises to marry by the end of spring. Who shows up the following week? Not darling Antonio, but Salvatore. He’s successful, his family is respected, and he comes bearing gifts. The family is thrilled. When he makes an offer for Sophia, they accept on her behalf. Sophia is distraught. Where is her beloved?”

“Where is he?” Nic asked.

“Don’t know. The diary doesn’t say. But Sophia’s in a panic. She tries to delay the wedding, but the folks won’t have it. Antonio is MIA until the night before the wedding.”

Brenna can’t believe it. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope. He shows up at some fancy dinner. Now that he’s not going to be family, her parents make him welcome. Sophia is heartbroken. He’s her one true love, yada yada. They meet out by the fountain close to midnight. He wants her to come away with him, to elope. But she can’t shame her family. Salvatore is a good man. They fight, they make up, they have sex.”

Brenna’s mouth dropped open. “No way.”

Mia grinned. “Oh, she’s pretty delicate in her description, but there’s no doubt the deed gets done. Salvatore gets the bride, but not the cherry.”

“Does that start the feud?” Nic asked.